The board had an extensive meeting this month, with lots of information to discuss and share with you. We had some robust and transparent discussions, which were very helpful to ensure we are all on the same page across the board.
We thank the school community wholeheartedly for the honest and constructive feedback in the school survey. Comments from staff, students and parents were collated by an external independent consultant. Overall, our strengths were identified as our people (kind students, supportive teachers and involved community), our school (rural, extensive grounds, outdoor play areas), the wide variety of activities offered that add value, our focus on environment and sustainability, and our focus on tiikanga maaori and whanau involvement in the school. The things we need to improve are unconstructive student behaviour, especially by older kids in front of younger kids, specific aspects of the collaborative learning approach (noise levels, high numbers, lack of PD, stretched teachers and impacts on teacher-student relationships) and the school grounds (tidiness and range of play areas). The full summary provides greater detail by students, community and staff. As response rates ranged greatly per group, some summaries are more representative than others.
In response to this survey, the board has signed off on the key priorities for 2019 that were identified by the leadership team, namely, continuing the spirals of inquiry approach (see more information below), creating more effective behaviour systems, increasing school leadership and systems effectiveness, improving administration, and improving environmental learning and the wider school environment. It was agreed that by addressing these issues, the wellbeing of learners and staff would be improved. The next step is to identify specific actions to address these priorities.
We also had an impromptu presentation from Laurel regarding the spirals of inquiry approach and how it has worked so well this year in Te Kaho. This presentation was originally designed to share with other teams, as part of the sharing of quality practices and knowledge across the school. We found it so beneficial to understand how the collaborative learning model could be effectively applied with significant, evidence-based success.
We also had Matt's appraisal by Jo Wilson, Expert Partner, Accredited Facilitator and Senior Consultant for Leading Learning. The board is satisfied that Matt effectively meets all of the criteria for the Primary Principal Professional Standards, the Professional Standards for the Teaching Profession and has documented evidence to attest to ongoing progress towards achieving school goals and targets.
We had an open and constructive discussion regarding potential areas of improvement for Matt, which will be developed going forward. However, the board would also like to note our appreciation of the phenomenal effort Matt puts into the school over and above the required 'standards'. This effort often occurs 'under the radar', and is particularly important given today's challenging and changing educational environment. Thank you, Matt and the Whatawhata staff, ma whero ma pango ka oti ai te mahi.
Finally, the board often discusses the changing nature of education (well summarised here: https://tinyurl.com/y9e2kjcf, and this month we critically evaluated how we 'assess' our children, what we 'assess' them for, how we report their 'progress'. With the removal of national standards and, therefore, the permission to view children as individuals and holistic beings, we will be rethinking our assessment and reporting. If anyone has ideas or best-practise examples along these lines, please feel free to pass them on to Matt for consideration in the wider discussion. His door is always open.
The board would like to wish all staff, students and community members a safe and happy holiday break, and we look forward to reporting to you again in the New Year.
Ngaa manaakitanga.
The Board of Trustees.
